An open letter which has been signed by Joan Baez, Sean Ono Lennon, Graham Nash, Allison Russell and Josh Gad among others, has issued a warning about the rising nuclear threat.
The letter, which appeared in The New York Times and Variety, has been penned by a myriad of household names from the TV, music, film and related industries, voicing concerns over this rising threat.
Appearing under the headline, “No More Hiroshimas, No More Nagasakis: Cultural Leaders for a Future Without Nuclear Weapons,”, it begins: “Eighty years ago, atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and changed the course of history. … Today, experts believe the risk that a nuclear weapon will be used again—by accident or on purpose—is as high as it has ever been. Conflicts are raging in regions with nuclear weapons—even over nuclear weapons".
It continues: “The only remaining treaty limiting the number of nuclear weapons in the world expires in six months. Emerging technologies and AI pose new unknown risks to already complex systems. We’re sliding into a costly and dangerous new arms race under the absurd premise that threatening annihilation keeps us safe. But the ending isn’t written yet, and the creative community has a leading role to play in pulling us back from the nuclear brink".
The letter also includes a pledge from the signaturies to use their voices, platforms, leadership and storytelling qualities to raise awareness and call attention to the dangers which nuclear weapons pose, and to encourage people to to think of a safer future without them.
Actors who have added their signature to this letter also include Rosanna Arquette, Lawrence Bender, Kathryn Bigelow, Yvette Nicole Brown, James Cameron, Alan Cumming, Michael Douglas, Walton Goggins, Topher Grace, Clark Gregg, Harry Hamlin, Matthew Modine, Julianne Moore, Olivia Munn, Lisa Rinna, Martin Sheen, George Takei, Emma Thompson and Lily Tomlin.
Many of these names who signed this letter have been anti-nuclear weapon activists for years, including Graham Nash, who also performed and helped to organise No Nukes: The MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future at Madison Square Garden in 1979.
That same year, Michael Douglas also produced and starred in the nuclear thriller, The China Syndrome.
This letter has also received the backing of governors of Hiroshima, and Nagaski, as well as former US Secretary of Engery and co chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Ernest J Moniz, who added: “The possibility that a nuclear weapon will be used again—by accident or on purpose—is rising. We can barrel toward catastrophe, or we can come together behind a different path that eliminates the nuclear threat".
